Ricky Starks Debuts On WWE NXT
Ricky Starks made a surprise appearance on Tuesday's episode of NXT, just one day after being let out of his AEW contract.
Ricky Starks already has a new home with NXT.
Starks made a surprise appearance on Tuesdayâs episode of NXT, entering the arena through the crowd in Orlando. Starks declared NXT needed a star like him, declaring his intention to call Tuesday nights home.
âItâs obvious you know who I am. If NXT is the future of professional wrestling, well guess what? You need an Absolute Superstar of the future! If this is the hottest brand, well you need the hottest free agent around, baby,â Starks said.
Starks said he was there to flip NXT upside-down. He knows fans have been asking when the revolution would be televised again, borrowing from his catchphrase. Well, thatâs why heâs there, Starks noted.
Catch up on everything that went down on Tuesdayâs episode of NXT here.
Ricky Starks appeared on NXT just one day after he became a free agent. Starks had been under contract with AEW, but had not appeared on AEW TV in several months. Starksâ last appearance on AEW programming was in March 2024.
AEW reportedly picked up an option year on his contract, extending it into 2025. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (via Fightful Select) reported that Starksâ AEW contract was set to expire in the spring. Earlier this year, Starks began taking independent bookings. He also reportedly asked for his release, but his request was denied by AEW.
Ricky Starks was asked about his absence from AEW television in a November interview with Chris Van Vliet. He recently confirmed he has not been injured and didnât know the true reason for being kept off of AEW TV, but would love to know why.
âBeats me. I could have 1,000 theories about whatâs really going on,â Starks told on Insight. âThe fact of the matter is that if I donât have a definitive answer, I canât just make up an answer for people and just assume. Would I love to know the exact reason? For sure. Do I have speculations about why? Absolutely. But that does nothing to speak on things that I speculate, does nothing for the situation. So I think itâs just a matter of, it sucks, itâs been a very cold day here in Austin. Itâs been a very cold day. May have been cold for the past nine months, not sure. But thankfully, I have a sweater, and Iâm always ready to keep the warmth going.â
âMarch was my last match. Iâve been home, Iâve been healthy. Never was injured. I did have a stinger,â Ricky Starks continued. â[It happened] in that match against Top Flight in March. I got immediately checked out and everything was fine, but I was just concerned at the time. So that happened and then I was just home. Thatâs kind of where itâs been at. Iâve just been home.
âItâs kind of a mindf*ck because Iâm in my prime and it sucks when youâre on such a momentum, riding the wave, doing work and doing stuff, and then to just be at home for so long, youâre kind of like, whoa. It kind of throws it off. I am not meant to be at home. Iâm not meant to be a homebody in this current phase in my life. Iâm not meant to be just chilling at home and doing not the thing that Iâve been busting my ass to do for the past 13 years.â